Now that we have survived another April Fools’ Day, I wanted to look back at all the creative and inspirational viral April Fools’ Day campaigns that have come out of this age-old tradition.

April Fools’ Day (sometimes called April Fool’s Day or All Fools’ Day) is an old custom celebrated every year on the first day of April. Popular since the 19th century, the day is not a national holiday in any country, but it is widely recognized throughout European cultures and celebrated as a day when people play practical jokes and hoaxes on each other, both the jokes and their victims being known as “April fools”.

What we all know to be a day of mischief and foolery is also seen as an opportunity for the companies and brands that we love to get noticed in some bizarre, funny and in some case surprising ways.

2014

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2012

On April 1, 2012, Google Maps 8-bit for NES was launched. Take a look at the announcement video for “Google Maps 8-Bit,” a port of the popular map service to the Nintendo Entertainment System.

Google Maps 8-bit for NES

2011

The search giant decided in 2011 to poke fun at the infamously terrible Comic Sans font. Google has released an extension for its Google Chrome Web browser entitled “Comic Sans for Everyone” which turns the font on every Web page into Comic Sans.

Google has released an extension for its Google Chrome Web browser entitled “Comic Sans for Everyone”

Also in 2011

Virgin announced on it’s website that founder Sir Richard Branson, decided to buy Pluto for an undisclosed sum and reinstate it as a planet. Branson is also having a special deep space vehicle built that will help increase Pluto’s planetary mass.

Sir Richard Branson, decided to buy Pluto for an undisclosed sum and reinstate it as a planet

Also in 2010

BMW announced on April Fools’ Day 2010 that it would be releasing tags, which were intended to show off the driver’s political leanings. It comes in the colors of all of the major UK parties, including red, blue, and yellow.

Uwe Beanhadde, head of Made-up Technology, said: “One of the most popular features, sure to strike a chord with the floating voter, is that the roundel can be replaced in a matter of seconds should the opposition suddenly seem more appealing.”

BMW show off the driver’s political leanings

2009

Take advantage of their “No Booking Fees” promotion save $3,000,000,000,000 so that you can fly to Mars from only $99. In case they take down the ad on their homepage, check out Expedia’s No Interplanetary Booking Fees information page that includes a YouTube video, links to hotels, and a list of activities, all the info you need to book your flight and enjoy your stay.

Take advantage of their “No Booking Fees” promotion save $3,000,000,000,000 so that you can fly to Mars from only $99

2008

Although Google acquired YouTube in October 2006 (for $1.65 billion), the company and its video-sharing subsidiary didn’t start using videos in its annual tomfoolery until April 1, 2008. That’s when YouTube participated in Google’s April Fools’ Day tradition for the first time. All the featured videos on YouTube’s homepages linked to “Rick Astley – Never Gonna Give You Up“, causing all users of the website who clicked on featured videos to be “Rickrolled.”

In 2010, Old Spice and its ad agency Wieden+Kennedy released “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” with actor Isaiah Mustafa. Mustafa is making a comeback, this time in an online campaign that hides Old Spice ads behind nine hilarious websites for fake products.

My fav is the site for Executive Spray Tan Parties, partytanz.com, complete with a bonus autoplay video:

During 2013, we have seen major developments in responsive e-commerce websites. Responsive web design offers new opportunities and challenges for boosting online sales. Here is my top 10 responsive mobile and desktop e-commerce websites of 2013.

Mobile use of the internet is exploding and it’s expected to overtake desktop during 2014/15. The disparate screen sizes and a huge range of devices available is overwhelming, but it’s a challenge online retailers need to address. They need a responsive e-commerce websites.

Most online shoppers will soon be purchase their goods from either a mobile or tablet device. Given the rapid global growth of the mobile/tablet market, there are opportunities to tap into new and lucrative markets.

UI UX Design to sell everywhere!

Personally, I always work mobile first, meaning that I design for mobile devices first and work up. A lot of e-commerce sites suffer from unnecessary bloat and a responsive approach requires designers and retailers to trim the fat. This means better considering information architecture, streamlining checkout processes and optimising written and visual content for mobile.

Given the advantages of this approach, it’s surprising that great examples of responsive commerce websites are few and far between. I am sure this will change by the end of 2014.